Yearly Archives: 2016

Branch Banking & Trust Company (BB&T) has agreed to pay the United States $83 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet applicable requirements, the Justice Department announced today.  BB&T is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald announced the award of $3.4 million in grant funding offered through the Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program to 16 community agencies that provide enhanced services for homeless Veterans with special needs

Mortgage applications decreased 0.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 23, 2016

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, today announced the expansion of its innovative Resilience AmeriCorps program to 55 tribal communities through partnerships with Conservation Legacy, American Indian Higher Education Consortium, Enterprise Community Partners, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Tribal Housing Authorities.

To help advance housing, jobs and educational opportunities for justice-involved youth, HUD and the Department of Justice today announced $300,000 in grants to Public Housing Authorities (PHAs)and legal assistance organizations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. These grants willaddress challenges justice-involved individuals face when trying to find work and a place to call home. Read below a complete project-by-project summary of the programs awarded funding today

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today it is charging the owners and developers of Ashlynn Estates, a 27-unit complex in Ellensburg, Washington, with housing discrimination for designing and constructing housing units that fail to meet the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act. Read HUD’s charge.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today announced the availability of data on mortgage lending transactions at 6,913 U.S. financial institutions covered by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Covered institutions include banks, savings associations, credit unions, and mortgage companies. The HMDA data made available today cover 2015 lending activity and include

The emergence of “18-hour” cities as magnets for investment and development will be discussed at the J.C. Nichols forum, an event being hosted on Thursday, September 29, by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) at Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The forum honors the legacy of Kansas City developer J.C. Nichols, a founding ULI member considered to be one of America’s most creative entrepreneurs in land use during the first half of the 20th century

The Housing and Insurance subcommittee held a hearing to examine international factors affecting domestic insurance markets.  Subcommittee members questioned hearing witnesses on the various international regulatory standards being considered by the G-20, the Financial Stability Board, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, and other international supervisory authorities.  In addition, today’s hearing gave members the first real opportunity to examine the covered agreement negotiations between the United States and the European Union.

Over 40 percent of American homebuyers feel taken advantage of or are confused by the calculation of title insurance fees on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) new mortgage disclosures, according to a new study by the American Land Title Association (ALTA)

The Urban Land Institute (ULI), a research and education institute dedicated to responsible land use and building thriving communities worldwide, has been awarded a $115,000 grant from the Leichtag Foundation to support the institute’s Building Healthy Places Initiative’s focus on food and real estate. This effort seeks to explore the intersection between real estate development and food, and demonstrate how access to fresh food can help enhance human health, the environment, social equity and food system security, as well as community sustainability and prosperity.

Chairman Luetkemeyer, Ranking Member Cleaver, Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify today on the impact of U.S. – EU dialogues on insurance markets. Today’s hearing focuses on prudential aspects of international insurance matters, including the prospect of an agreement on such matters between the United States and the European Union.  With respect to these topics, Congress granted the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) the following authority

Representatives from the National Institute of Building Sciences Multihazard Mitigation Council (MMC) and Council on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (CFIRE) headed to Capitol Hill September 22 to brief Congressional staff about updated research and recommendations on incentivizing mitigation.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Sears Home Improvement Products Inc. that resolves alleged violations of the federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule for work performed by Sears’ contractors during home renovation projects across the country.  Under the settlement, Sears will implement a comprehensive, corporate-wide program to ensure that the contractors it hires to perform work are properly certified and follow required procedures to prevent exposure to lead dust from home renovation activities.  Sears will also pay a $400,000 civil penalty

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) closed two loans for rehabilitation projects that will preserve affordable housing in Southeast DC— at the 93-unit Parkchester Apartments at 2704 Wade Road SE, and 1314 K Street SE, a 12-unit cooperative building

The modeled costs to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems continued to decline in the first quarter of 2016 in the U.S. residential, commercial, and utility-scale sectors, according to updated benchmarks from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Driving the cost reductions were lower module and inverter prices, increased competition, lower installer and developer overheads, improved labor productivity, and optimized system configurations.

The National Institute of Building Sciences will host a free webinar Thursday, October 6 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm ET, to highlight an emerging energy performance concept—outcome-based pathways. This new approach to achieving efficient energy use addresses the needs and challenges of numerous stakeholders in the building industry

Construction employment increased in three-fifths of metro areas between August 2015 and August 2016—the smallest share in nearly three and a half years—as contractors in many areas report difficulty in finding qualified workers, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said the new data underscores the need to make it easier for school officials to set up programs that teach skills like construction.

David H. Stevens, CMB, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), issued the following statement on Freddie Mac's new credit-risk transfer offering: "MBA appreciates Freddie Mac's efforts to bring more private capital into the market through the credit-risk transfer offering they recently announced. In this early stage of the credit risk transfer market, it is important to experiment with different transactions and structure types to evaluate their long term economic and competitive impact.